ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. scale — size or range
  6. content — happy
  7. scale — in music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. content — the amount
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com